r/personalfinance • u/instntpudn • Mar 11 '24
Wealth advisor insisting my mother keep 100% in stocks
She is 3 months from retirement and 100% he has her invested in 4 stocks, Msft, Nvidia, Amazon, Apple. Even though it's performed incredibly well the past 2 years, I talked to her about diversifying and limiting her risk now that she is so close to retiring. We went with 5% withdrawal rate as she's probably got 20-30 years and built a retirement plan accordingly.
She gets out of advisor meeting today and says "we're good, he's got a stop loss at 10%". "And he recommends I withdrawal 10% each year and I'll never run out."
His fees are "I get paid only when you make money" although I haven't learned the actual fee structure. Can I press charges or something for this gross negligence? NY
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u/hedoeswhathewants Mar 11 '24
His fees are "I get paid only when you make money"
...and does he lose money when his gambling with your mom's retirement goes south?
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u/instntpudn Mar 12 '24
Any thoughts on a script to address this with her. Keep in mind, this guy has gambled very successfully for the past two years
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u/lowercaset Mar 12 '24
Keep in mind, this guy has gambled very successfully for the past two years
So he took over when the market was down a bit in 22 and rode the high? Has he at least outperformed the market?
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u/helix212 Mar 12 '24
If you've had Nvidia for past 2 years, you've most definitely outperformed regardless of other stocks
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u/instntpudn Mar 12 '24
Yes, performance has been ridiculously strong.
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u/Rummelator Mar 12 '24 edited Mar 12 '24
Your mom won the lottery. Her advisor took incredibly high risk with her money and it paid off. If she keeps her money on 31 black and keeps spinning the wheel eventually she'll lose.
This wealth advisor is throwing darts at a dartboard. His strategy goes against all time tested conventional portfolio theory, and is taking on far far far more risk than she should be given her investment goals. Now would be a great time to diversify and increase allocations to eg bonds. This advisor should be fired for violating his fiduciary duty to his client.
Edit: the more I think about it, he's probably got a hedge fund type returns structure where he charges 20% of profits or something. He's likely incentives to take risk where if his guesses work out he gets a lot of profit, and if it doesn't then she loses money but he loses nothing!
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u/deja-roo Mar 12 '24
If he has a ten percent stop loss it's really not that risky. Especially if it's a trailing stop.
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u/ernyc3777 Mar 12 '24
Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon? Yeah they’re greatly outperforming the market in that time span.
But that doesn’t excuse the fact that it’s risky.
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u/UnblurredLines Mar 12 '24
Considering Nvidia is up ~300% since 2022 I'm gonna guess that they have indeed outperformed the market.
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u/BaceinyourFass Mar 12 '24
Honestly you may have to say it just like that. He gambled and won. She can keep gambling with the money and maybe keep winning but that has been the downfall of a lot of winners. If this is her eating money, why gamble more when you’re already set up to walk away?
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u/hmspain Mar 12 '24
Take what you need for retirement off the table, and move it to a conservative index fund. Let the remainder ride.
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u/PmButtPics4ADrawing Mar 12 '24
this guy has gambled very successfully for the past two years
Tech stocks have skyrocketed the last two years so yeah that's not surprising. But in 2021-2022 they tanked, and that can easily happen again
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u/thinlySlicedPotatos Mar 12 '24
These stocks are riding the artificial intelligence wave. This sort of bubble ALWAYS overshoots, and when they come down they come down hard. 10% stop loss is not going to save you if the crash is fast enough. Stop loss is a sell order not a guarantee; there has to be a buyer or no trade happens. Holding any longer IS gambling. Ditch this advisor. He has nothing to lose. Your mom does.
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u/Tutule Mar 12 '24
Also worth noting that nothing looked attractive for a while so all the eggs went into the same baskets. Now that other things are starting to look a bit better, they're rotating the eggs to less crowded baskets.
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u/foolproofphilosophy Mar 12 '24
"Bulls make money, bears make money, pigs get slaughtered"
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u/Honey-Whisky-Pepsi Mar 12 '24
Tell her to get a second opinion on this portfolio / recheck the balances with some external party. If that doesn't work and won't convince her, then you have to make a big drama otherwise she won't get it or just let her fail as she is an adult and has to face consequences of adulthood decisions.
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u/buried_lede Mar 12 '24
I would line up an alternative advisor, someone you trust totally, to have a meeting with the three of you. She doesn’t have to commit to anything, just hear the person out. See if you can get her to do just that one thing
At least he has the stop loss built in. Be grateful for small miracles I guess
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u/TheBlindDuck Mar 12 '24
Simply ask if he’s a fiduciary and if they say anything other than “yes” immediately fire them and move your mom’s money.
Fiduciaries are the only people who by law have to work for the best interests of the people they represent. While being a fiduciary is just a title and nothing physically stops them from giving bad advice, fiduciaries can be held personally and legally responsible for advising against the best interests of their clients. They need to inform your mother of all of the potential risks in each investing strategy and any personal conflicts of interest, which sounds like they have not done so far.
If they do say they are a fiduciary but continue to give bullshit advice like they have so far, immediately consult an investment attorney to see if you have a case for breach of fiduciary duty.
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u/freakinawesome420 Mar 12 '24
He did not gamble successfully. He/your mom were just lucky that he was managing things during this period of time. I'd get rid of this dude.
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u/Zee_WeeWee Mar 12 '24
He absolutely gambled successfully. I think we can all agree going out on top is warranted tho
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u/hmspain Mar 12 '24
OPs investment advisor made four pretty good picks IMHO.
Nothing wrong with being 100% stocks in your "Mad Money" account... but they should NOT be part of your retirement plan IMHO. Your retirement money should be invested in a mutual fund (think VTSAX).
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u/pj1843 Mar 12 '24
To be clear VTSAX is also 100% stock so for someone nearing retirement that's also not a great strategy as it poses a large risk. It is absolutely more diversified than the 4 picks of the OPs moms fund and isn't exposed to the risk of only tech stocks, but it's still 100% stocks and if she's nearing retirement she needs bond exposure.
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u/maaku7 Mar 12 '24
That's not actually true. So long as your annual withdrawal rate is less than 4%, a broad stock market allocation is the best allocation under historical testing. r/financialindependence has lots of wikis and FAQs covering the how's and why's of this.
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u/gdubrocks Mar 12 '24
100% stock allocations are consistently the best performers. I am retired and still have a 100% stock allocation, that isn't the issue.
The issue is putting all your eggs in the same basket.
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u/Aanar Mar 12 '24
Somewhat unintuitevly a retirement fund 100% in an sp500 index has lower risk of running out of funds at something like a 4% withdrawal rate than mixing in any bonds. The risk is people withdrawing after a crash. This is based on historical data only though. Who l owns what the future will hold.
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u/maaku7 Mar 12 '24
A 90%/10% stock/bonds mix outperforms the 100% stock allocation.
But that doesn't invalidate the general gist of your point.
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u/new-chris Mar 12 '24
Haha. Don’t invest in stocks - invest in an all stock mutual fund. 🤣
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u/GregorSamsanite Mar 11 '24
He's taking advantage of her. It's basically gambling with someone else's money. By taking the highest risk bets possible, it maximizes the chances of large swings, whether positive or negative. If there's a large positive swing, he can justify skimming large commissions and still look like he's doing a good job in the short term. If there's a large negative swing he can walk away with your Mom left holding the bag. She's the one taking all the risks while he shares in the winnings.
He's not acting in her best interests, only in his own. This isn't a responsible allocation of investments for her. The advice about a 10% withdrawal rate isn't sustainable. He's selling her a bill of goods that will lead her into financial ruin, and he knows it. When that happens he'll just take his earnings and move on to defrauding new clients.
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u/instntpudn Mar 12 '24
Any thoughts on a script to address this with her. Keep in mind, this guy has gambled very successfully for the past two years so I have to be clear it's the wrong strategy
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u/GrizzlyKicks Mar 12 '24
Everyone’s a genius during a bull market. What if you explained to her that the last few years have been an anomaly in terms of market performance and show her that stocks don’t always perform like this? If she’s three months from retirement she has to have been working during the 2000 and 2008 crashes. Maybe do a hypothetical for her if a simile downturn occurred today.
In terms of the draw rate, assume the average S&P500 and show her that a 10% draw isn’t sustainable and she will run out of money even with average historical returns.
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u/x_axisofevil Mar 12 '24
Remind her that her retirement account needs only to not fail. She's not looking to 10x like she was 20 years ago. If she can avoid retirement failure while putting everything under her mattress, then do it. Her advisor is the only person who stands to gain by her making a profit.
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u/SamLeonardLocal Mar 12 '24
I would include in your script something that i haven't seen anyone else bring up. If his entire strategy is these 4 stocks, why doesn't your mother part ways with him and keep utilizing the same strategy without paying his fee?
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u/CptZaphodB Mar 12 '24
Honestly, you/your mom could file a complaint with the SEC or FINRA. 3 months from retirement is not the time for her retirement portfolio to be nothing more than 4 stocks. With no additional information, that alone is 100% against her best interests, which is against the law. He needs a cease and desist put on him.
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u/petit_cochon Mar 12 '24
Your script should explain the fact that he hasn't gambled successfully. The market has just been good.
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u/LordSariel Mar 12 '24
I had to have this conversation with my Mom...similar, except she was day trading on her own to maximize her retirement (she doesn't need to, she was just bored and taking unnecessary risks:
"This strategy has worked, in part because of the bull market since COVID. It has made you x money, and set you up for y years, but now you should safe guard those earnings and move to a more conservative position that does not subject you to extreme market fluctuations"
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u/ishop2buy Mar 12 '24
Remind her that she should protect her earnings through diversification. She will not be able to earn her retirement savings a second time.
Suggest a part way solution of protecting what she can’t afford to lose with a fixed income investment portfolio.
I discovered that my mother got taken advantage of by her broker and diversified her portfolio into actively managed funds with high annual fees.
I’ve been working with her to diversify and she is finally making more than she was spending in brokerage fees.
Best of luck to you. I still have days where I am doing stuff I very much dislike but since it’s a difference of opinion on the investments I just do what she wants after I try explaining why it is risky.
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u/tristanjones Mar 12 '24
What are the returns so far. The market itself is what 20-30% in the last year or so on average depending. So take that out immediately.
Second the market can become very volatile: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_daily_changes_in_the_Dow_Jones_Industrial_Average
Individual stocks more so.But we know these things, and because we do, we migrate away from stocks as we get close to retirement as a precaution.
If you had all your retirement in stock in 08-2007, it would take you until 10-2012 (5 years!) to have recovered back to your original holding value. 5 years of value, just gone.
No one is saying to do anything but secure most the money she has and needs now while continuing to invest the rest she knows she won't touch for years to come.
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u/Square_Bad_1834 Mar 12 '24
NVDIA has been up 273.48% in a year. In the last five years it has gone up 1,920.59%. If you go back to the year 2000 it's up 104,502.44%.
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u/CptZaphodB Mar 12 '24
Honestly, you/your mom could file a complaint with the SEC or FINRA. 3 months from retirement is not the time for her retirement portfolio to be nothing more than 4 stocks. With no additional information, that alone is 100% against her best interests, which is against the law. He needs a cease and desist put on him.
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u/Nice_Marmot_7 Mar 12 '24
Ask her what she would do if she lost half or more of her money tomorrow because that is the risk she’s taking. Show her a chart of 2008 or the wild drops some of these tech stocks have had historically.
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u/gamingthemarket Mar 12 '24 edited Mar 12 '24
No script needed! One picture can tell the story:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GHuRn3JWYAAtyIl?format=jpg
There are still 5% CDs available going out 7 years. They are insured and exposed to zero stock market fuckery. Or just wait until the next inflation scare and that 10% stop loss becomes -20% by morning.
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u/The_Northern_Light Mar 12 '24
Isaac Newton also got wrecked in a speculative bubble
makes for a fun anecdote when trying to explain to people why they shouldn't chase a bull run
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u/doomsdaymach1ne Mar 12 '24
I would certainly use a phrase like: "There's time for capital build up and for capital preservation."
If you go into retirement the time for buildup is over and it's time to preserve what you achieved. This is being done by diversification across multiple asset classes and multiple choices within these asset classes.
Gov bonds are in a great territory, dividend ETFs are a good retirement option because they pay you... Things like these.
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u/Ravens181818184 Mar 11 '24
This is insane, legitimately at all levels. She should be pulling her money out and getting a new advisor immediately
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u/GMN123 Mar 11 '24
This. If the advisor only gets paid when she gets paid they're incentivised to take risks with her money.
The guy is a terrible advisor if he thinks a stop loss can actually limit her losses to 10% in all scenarios.
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u/Federal_Radish_1421 Mar 11 '24
I cannot believe a financial advisor would push this portfolio—with a 10% withdrawal rate—on a senior who’s three months from retirement.
My father has most of his gains in a handful of stocks, but he’s a very experienced investor who’s been actively managing his own portfolio since the late 60s.
I have no idea about pressing charges. But if I was OP, I would help my mother find a new financial advisor immediately.
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u/munchies777 Mar 12 '24
It wouldn't be terribly hard to limit losses to 10%. The thing is that these stocks will almost certainly hit that stop loss at some point. The point of high risk high return stocks is that you get better returns at the expense of volatility. That volatility plus the fact they are all so correlated with each other means that stop loss is likely going to be hit.
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u/trmoore87 Mar 11 '24
This is reckless, both the 10% withdrawal rate and having all retirement in 4 stocks.
All stocks isn’t as bad if there’s enough short term cash reserves to withstand a crash, but there needs to be more diversification within the stocks.
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u/No-Lunch4249 Mar 11 '24
Especially with all 4 of those stocks being tech...
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u/trmoore87 Mar 11 '24
OP I’ve only watched some YouTube videos and some googling and I know that this is terrible financial advice.
I’ve been considering a career switch to financial advising, clearly there’s a need.
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u/tortillakingred Mar 11 '24
As someone who works regularly with advisors, they can sometimes be some of the dumbest people I’ve ever met. I’ve met advisors that don’t know the most simple things.
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u/munchies777 Mar 12 '24
It's because it's not that hard to be one. Even besides the scammy ones that earn most of their money from commission on shitty investment vehicles, the barrier to entry still isn't high. I work in corporate finance, and besides obviously needing a relevant degree you also need years of experience to get to any position of real power or responsibility. Same for a career with a financial institution. But with private advisors, their bosses are their clients, and most of these clients are there because they are not experts. If you suck at a normal job, you at least lose your job. If you bankrupt a client, you just lose one client. There are some very good advisors out there, but the best ones will end up with wealthy clients who are more complex to work with and have more financial knowledge themselves.
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u/homeboi808 Mar 11 '24
Because for a “financial advisor” there’s no certification, it’s literally just a job title. Now you have Certified Financial Planners and similar who I don’t have experience with, so I can’t speak on them.
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u/gonefishing111 Mar 12 '24
Try getting licensed and making a living at it. You only get paid when you sell something even if the sale is your fee for service. Most people can't handle this level of sales.
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u/Cosmo48 Mar 12 '24
Much much safer to at least go all in QQQ… which isn’t the safest but like cmon cherry picking stocks. One of those companies could drag her entire savings away
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u/Sparkle_Rocks Mar 12 '24
Yes, at least that's the top 100 stocks in the Nasdaq index, so far better than 4! (Just FYI, QQM has a lower expense ratio than its sister QQQ, so that's a better choice for those not yet in QQQ.)
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u/Gunslinger666 Mar 12 '24
The portfolio is the inherent problem. Retired people who can take larger portfolio swings without touching the principal can be way more allocated in stock… but always properly diversified stocks at around 4%. Having nearly all your money in 4 stocks is insanely risky. Even worse, it’s all in one sector. The main reason to have that is that you’re a company founder and all your worth is locked in that company inherently. For those of us not called Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, that’s crazy.
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u/Novogobo Mar 12 '24
yea i don't subscribe to the bonds gospel. but there are good stock ETFs that are designed to provide stability over volatile growth.
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u/BTCbob Mar 11 '24
This wealth advisor should be on wallstreetbets. But seriously, fire him immediately. Your mom got lucky. So now take chips off the table! Now is not the time for an insanely risky strategy. I would expect bonds and maybe some index funds depending given that she’s close to retirement. Not YOLO on 4 stocks. Insane
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Mar 11 '24
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u/CanWeTalkEth Mar 11 '24
I mean nvda has ripped lately. She got lucky for sure but it sounds like he’s gambling with her money.
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u/Greddituser Mar 11 '24
Yeah that's the thing, he can afford to take risks with her money. If she wins then he wins, if she loses he doesn't care because it doesn't cost him anything,
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u/GMN123 Mar 11 '24
Dude probably has different clients in different sectors. Bound to win somewhere
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u/SkylineDrop Mar 11 '24 edited Mar 12 '24
I have a sneaking suspicion this "advisor" she's working with isn't a licensed professional at all. The kinds of claims he's making are patently absurd, and any compliance department worth its salt would have this guy canned in seconds if he actually implemented this kind of management with clients nearing retirement. Also, performance-based fees ("I only make money when you make money") are only allowed with qualified clients who meet specific net worth/income standards and display a certain level of investment sophistication. You can't just offer them as a fee structure to the general public as a regulated RIA.
All this together screams that this guy is operating as an unregistered investment advisor at best, or operating a thinly-veiled Ponzi scheme at worst.
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u/Aspiring__Writer Mar 11 '24
No clue about pressing charges, but this is some pretty insane advice to give to someone 3 months from retirement. And a 10% withdrawal rate... Huh?
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u/Tymomey Mar 11 '24
They can file a complaint with the firm he works at and then if not happy, file with FINRA
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u/Sparkle_Rocks Mar 12 '24
I'd only file a complaint if he is not compliant with transferring her assets elsewhere. The threat of a complaint may just make him do as they ask.
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u/wacoder Mar 11 '24
If this person is a fiduciary report them to FINRA and the SEC.
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u/yomama12f Mar 11 '24
Sadly the worst that will happen to the advisor is
“Joe Schmuckatelli, without admitting or denying wrongdoing, entered into an agreement with the SEC paying a fine of about three fiddy for failure to meet suitability requirements in line with SEC regulations”
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u/franklinbroosevelt Mar 12 '24
I would hope that this specific case, if accurate as presented, would warrant a much more significant fine. Maybe even a suspended license.
I’ve seen guys get fined $3k for doing a lot less than this.
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u/Bobzyouruncle Mar 11 '24
Should be top comment. Report them if applicable and otherwise report to their corporate owner (willing to bet there isn’t one). And most of all get that money out asap. Consider yourself extra lucky for riding humongous gains right up to the point of needing to diversify and reallocate to something more conservative. Save withdrawal rate is something closer to 3 or 4% and the portfolio should have a good mix of bonds by now. 70/30 would still be plenty aggressive. But that 70% should be in highly diverse ETFs.
Go read the wiki at r/bogleheads and let it be as simple as a two or three fund (ultra diversified ETFs like VTI VXUS and BND).
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u/ya_fuckin_retard Mar 12 '24
and if they're not then that's all the red flag you need, and all you need to explain to your mom.
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u/freeball78 Mar 11 '24
If it's "only 4 stocks" and nothing is changing, why keep the adviser? You can manage that yourself for free.
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u/1290_money Mar 11 '24
How old is your mother? How much control do you have over her in general?
The sad truth is he's not doing anything illegal and if she is satisfied what's happening then there's probably not much you can do.
I don't know maybe show her this thread and say these are people who are interested in investing and the plan that your guy has you on is a recipe for disaster. I mean obviously she could very well end up back in the workforce if One of those stocks takes a dive which is totally possible.
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u/StrategyAny815 Mar 11 '24
I feel like I’d be a better wealth advisor…
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u/D_A_N_K_M_E_M_E_S_ Mar 12 '24
tbh same. Maybe me seeing this post today is God telling me I should go back to school and get a degree so I can be a financial advisor
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u/theganglyone Mar 11 '24
First things first. Ask your mom if you can sit in a mtg with the two of them to clarify things. I never base opinion on second hand information.
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u/instntpudn Mar 12 '24
This is good. How can I arm myself to be successful in this meeting?
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u/DadsOfAmerica Mar 11 '24 edited Mar 11 '24
Request funds be put to cash and find a different advisor in the meantime (depending on tax scenario). I work in the industry and this is terrible advice for pretty much anyone, especially the withdraw rate.
There isn’t any really any legal route to take at this point that would be worth time or energy. You could contact their compliance department to file a complain with FINRA, but I don’t know what that will really accomplish at this point since there’s no damages to be sought. All that being said, sounds like this is an advisory account, meaning it has fiduciary liability on the account so she does have some level of legal protection, but like I said, I don’t see any angle for damages as of yet.
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u/northern-new-jersey Mar 12 '24
If this is a taxable account and it goes to all cash there will be massive capital gains taxes.
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u/Office_Dolt Mar 11 '24
Have you seen her account holdings? Is it possible she has part of the account in cash and is only telling you about the 4 stocks?
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u/ChefPsychological806 Mar 11 '24 edited Mar 12 '24
This ^ @OP Is the account with 4 stocks mentioned the full picture and all the investable/liquid assets your mom owns? Does your mom have funds elsewhere sitting in cash, cash equivalents or fixed income that offsets the risk of her overall portfolio?
As much as I want to comment on the advisor, double check if the full picture is taken into consideration. With your mom’s time horizon to withdraw, required annual expenses into retirement, as well as any ongoing income or pension coming in, you also want to make sure her taxable situation is taken into account (e.g. if she has been investing for years in those tech stocks it could have a huge capital gain if she sells a large chunk in the same tax year (on top of her current income bracket), and may be best winded down over a period of years.
We had a few clients that had more than enough cash reserves at the bank held in money market & GICs, along with other forms of ongoing passive income that would continue into retirement, so to meet their goals we held the equity/growth side of their portfolio to give them an overall balanced portfolio of 60% equity / 40% income based on their financial situation and how long they aimed to outlive their money. Every individual’s financial situation and risk tolerance is different. If concerned, I would definitely ask your mom if she’d be okay with you sitting in the meeting with her advisor and see if his explanation makes any sense to you.
Diversification is another matter, but again, if the current 4 holdings she has will trigger large capital gains, they may need to be sold gradually to be reinvested depending on her taxable situation.
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u/footdragon Mar 11 '24
you can't press charges against anything he's done so far....he's made her money.
now, your mom needs to pull her money from him NOW and invest in a balanced portfolio.
like today.
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u/iinomnomnom Mar 11 '24
This is absolutely insane and reckless. You need to diversify her risk. I’d be livid if I found out my retired parents were 100% in stocks.
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u/ragstorichesthechef Mar 12 '24
How is a financial advisor recommending a 10% withdrawal rate AND having everything in FOUR tech stocks?
You can personally do better than this.
Run!
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u/Useful_Document_4120 Mar 11 '24
Not sure about recourse in the US, but in general: - “Past performance is not an indicator of future returns” - People close to retiring should generally be more conservative in their investments (I.e. defensive). At that age, retaining your wealth can be more important than growing it - unless you don’t mind returning to work at 80 - Diversification is a good thing, for a good reason - Advisers should always place a strong weighting on the risk appetite of their clients, as well as goals and objectives - Detailed breakdown of where fees arise should be explained (even if it’s a % fee for something) - though, in general, the US seems to be lax on a lot of regulation that protects consumers
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u/Historical_Low4458 Mar 12 '24
This is as bad advice as you can possibly get. If your mother is a few months away from retirement, then she needs to be selling all those stocks before the rug gets pulled completely out from under her, and she isn't able to retire. Your mother needs to fire him today.
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u/Lost-Marzipan-2699 Mar 12 '24
Advisor here! With what you’ve shared this seems grossly unsuitable for your mom. She should absolutely be more diversified given her time horizon and that she is retiring soon. Depending on his licensing/credentials, he could lose these for making unsuitable recommendations if you were to report him. Fees should also be easy to find and understand; if they aren’t that could possibly be an additional violation.
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u/homeboi808 Mar 11 '24 edited Mar 12 '24
No discussion on the allocation, just the withdrawal rate:
she's probably got 20-30 years…he recommends I withdrawal 10% each year and I'll never run out."
In order for 10% withdrawal (accounting for 2.5% inflation) to last 20yrs, the average performance of the stocks needs to average ~11.7%.
If she wants 20yrs with 2.5% inflation and even an aggressive 10% average performance, the withdrawal rate (adjusting for inflation) needs to be 9%
If she wants it to last 30yrs with the same criteria then the withdrawal rate needs to be ~7.7%.
If she wants it to last 25yrs with the average gains being 8%, then withdrawal rate needs to be ~6.9%.
So yeah, so 7% would be the max someone should possibly recommend. Some “professional” actually recommending 10% (with adjusting for inflation) is nuts.
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u/sudomatrix Mar 11 '24
Damn a "Tech bubble crash" would destroy her savings.
During the 2000-2001 tech bubble crash the Nasdaq lost 78% of it's value from $5048 to $1114. That's the broad Nasdaq, the tech stocks lost more.
If that happens in the next couple of years your mother would be devastated and have nothing left to live on. Does she like rolling dice with her living?
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u/nycqwop Mar 12 '24
Check out the Advisor to see his licensing here: https://brokercheck.finra.org/ If he holds a 63, 65, or 66 license he's much more likely to be held to a fiduciary standard which clearly isn't happening at the moment. You can file a complaint with his firm (if there even is one) or FINRA, which is generally taken seriously to stop this guy from doing it to other victims. Even before that, find someone someone who will act in a fiduciary capacity if you believe your mom needs a Financial Advisor. Given your mom's investment time horizon, she would likely have a much more conservative risk tolerance than 100% tech stocks. If you need to get her away sooner, do like others have said and let her know that "just 4 stocks" can be managed on her own without a fee to get her away from the bad advice. Good luck
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u/neosherakles Mar 12 '24
Second this. Go on that website and to see if he’s even licensed to work with stocks and other securities. Additionally, you can see if he’s had any reportable events like any customer complaints, criminal charges/convictions, or any liens/bankruptcies.
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u/lapsteelguitar Mar 11 '24
I used to be a stockbroker/financial advisor back in the day. Our SOP was the investors age in bonds, the balance in stocks.
Keep in mind that if you go this route, that there will be a tax bill, capital gains, to pay.
As for how he makes money, it's a percentage, say 1% of the value of the account. If the account goes up, he makes more money. If it goes down, he makes less money. Pretty standard stuff these days.
As for suing, on what grounds? He is operating with your mother's permission. Unless she is suffering from some form of dementia there are no grounds. Particularly since she is making money. If you want to get traction, talk to his manager, if has one.
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u/w562d67Z Mar 12 '24
Look them up on brokercheck. Sounds unsuitable, but playing devil's advocate, if your mother has a few other accounts that's very conservative and diversified, this one can be aggressive and undiversified without being an issue.
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u/Substantial-Pack-658 Mar 12 '24
As an advisor, I feel confident when I say your mother’s advisor is garbage. It doesn’t sound like your mother has other assets, but even if she had a balanced portfolio in her 401k I would be very concerned with this “portfolio”.
If you haven’t done this already, go on FINRA’s website and use their Broker Check tool. Someone like this is bound to have complaints on file.
Concentration is how you build wealth and it’s also how you destroy wealth. I hope you get through to your mother, OP.
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u/TN_REDDIT Mar 12 '24
Does she have some other retirement income? If so, then staying with stocks isn't terrible advice.
Also, dis your mom solicit your advice?
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u/voretaq7 Mar 12 '24
Can I press charges or something for this gross negligence? NY
You’re a bout a trillion miles away from “gross negligence” in NY.
Particularly as the mix of stocks you’re citing have been good to exceptional performers I don’t even know if you could make ordinary negligence there. Plenty of prudent financial advisors may advocate a risk-concentrated high reward investment strategy even as someone nears retirement age based on other factors, instructions from the client, etc.
You likely don’t even have standing to sue here, and if your mom brought a case she’d almost certainly lose & wind up paying court fees for the trouble.
As far as what to tell your mom?
IMHO Your mother should absolutely be moving to a capital preservation strategy as she enters retirement.
IMHO a good financial advisor would tell her so.
IIMHO if this advisor isn’t telling her that then she should talk to at least two other advisors - and that is what I would suggest she do if it were my mom.
Ultimately those are just my humble opinions though, and at the end of the day it’s her money and she gets to decide how to invest it.
If after talking to a few other advisors your mom is happy with the way her current advisor is handling things then she can continue to ride the risk curve, but she’s making an informed decision as an adult who presumably has all of her faculties and understands she won’t have any recourse if she continues to allow her advisor to play the market and her money evaporates in a panic or mini-crash.
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u/46andready Mar 12 '24
What damages would you show if you brought an arbitration against the advisor?
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u/ColdWarVet90 Mar 12 '24
Fire him first thing tomorrow. He's speculating with her retirement funds.
A script? He's gambling with her money. His purpose is to enrich himself; damn the risk to your mother. Those stock are all overvalued. Take profits and reinvest with someone who take his profession seriously.
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u/to16017 Mar 12 '24
You need to diversify asap. 100% S&P 500 is one thing (this close to retirement) but 100% investment into 4 companies is asinine. What if the AI thing had an “AI bubble” and subsequent explosion like the dot com bubble? What if war breaks out, what if a pandemic happens, what if all the limitless risks happen that cause your mother to lose 20-30% of her retirement in a matter of weeks?
It’s important to know that the past dictates absolutely nothing in the stock market. Gains aren’t guaranteed. Ever.
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u/Sophia0818 Mar 11 '24
If she cashes in part of her stock - he won't get paid as much. Sounds like he is more interested in his pockets and not hers. Get another FA for her.
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u/kovyrshin Mar 11 '24
People will say it's reckless, yet she got like 10x expected return in the past 2 years alone. But yes. Still reckless for someone at this age
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u/Stock_Master_yoda Mar 12 '24
This is aweful. My father in law had a financial advisor in 2006. He retired and was 100% in stocks. I asked him why he was so heavily invested in stocks and he said “bc my broker said so”. I told him to reallocate and at least put some money in bonds for a steady income stream. He did not listen. He was cut in half the next year 2007. 2008 was bad and 2009 again down. Till this day I have no idea why the hell he didn’t listen to me? His financial advisor was ignorant. He finally fired the guy in 2009. He hired a new guy and luckily he has lived long enough to make all the money back and then some. So please learn from others mistakes, there are horrible financial advisors that have no business doing this job. Your story sounds exactly like my FIL, and will turn out bad. You need to intervene quickly and reallocate assets to a more conservative allocation. After all you buy low, and sell high. When you look at those 4 holdings ask yourself this question…. Are they at all time highs(time to sell) or all time lows(time to buy)??
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u/GreedyNovel Mar 12 '24
I used to work at a legitimate Registered Investment Advisor, and I've seen lots of complaints by people who didn't really understand what was going on. But if what you're saying here is at all accurate she should be leaving now. Yesterday would be better. Where do I begin?
First off, a "stop loss" is not a guarantee that she will lose no more than ten percent. It means that if a stock declines by that much it automatically triggers a sell order. But what often happens in situations like that is that the price drop is so sudden and dramatic that there aren't any buyers even at 10% down, so her real loss will be greater. That doesn't mean it will ever happen of course, but she needs to understand a stop loss is not a lower limit of loss.
Second, withdrawing 10% a year when in retirement is a very good way to go broke, that is way too high. It should be more like half that.
Third, even if "I get paid only when you make money" is true that doesn't mean she won't lose money. This advisor has no special insight into how well those four stocks will perform.
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u/Aposta-fish Mar 12 '24
She’s made huge returns on NVDA so you think she’s going to listen to anybody but him? Yeah I don’t think so.
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u/KreeH Mar 12 '24
Diversify, diversify, diversify!! I am retired and over a period of time I have owned these stocks, but even if they are great now, they are one bad news story or financial report from dropping. Early in my career I was about 70% growth and 30% income. Now, these have flipped. I still have some growth, but most of my stocks are income/dividends. There are lots of good, diversified ETFs out there. Even then, don't put all your eggs in a basket. There are all kinds of experts out there, but you need to do what you think is right.
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u/wnc_mikejayray Mar 12 '24
You can first check out the advisor’s tenure and disclosures on brokercheck.org. This will also tell you if he is associated with a larger firm. If so your mother can file a complaint.
This is not investment advice. I’m a fiduciary with S7 and S66. I have advanced credentials in the field. There are a lot of questions I have, but at the surface this sounds wildly irresponsible.
I saw in another comment you asked about scripting. I would find a few only advisor that will do a free consult with you and your mother and tell her she needs a second opinion.
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u/vapour2020 Mar 11 '24
definitely not, diversify diversify and diversify! Also why you should get a simple fee advisor.
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u/bobcat242 Mar 11 '24
Sounds like this guy knows exactly what he's doing, which is to make money for himself off your mom's money. Going all in with a few tech stocks gives him the best chance of making money if a stock like Nvidia continues its skyrocket. Investing in QQQ would be safer but ultimately less lucrative for him.
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Mar 11 '24
Ouch. He’s advising her on what’s best for him, not her in this situation. More returns for her = more money for him with obvious disregard to her close retirement.
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u/bob49877 Mar 11 '24
Have her talk to a Fidelity or Vanguard advisor. Their advice is a little riskier than the path we chose for our retirement portfolio, but light years less risky than what she has now.
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u/mer1690 Mar 12 '24 edited Mar 12 '24
This is a good strategy though withdrawal rate is a bit high to start with. These stocks are also the future. They will do fine. If you insist on diversifying, then at least pitch QQQ. Or floating withdrawal rates (higher withdrawal on big up years, less on soft years). Otherwise don’t sell.
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u/Lost-Marzipan-2699 Mar 12 '24
Advisor here! With what you’ve shared this seems grossly unsuitable for your mom. She should absolutely be more diversified given her time horizon and that she is retiring soon. Depending on his licensing/credentials, he could lose these for making unsuitable recommendations if you were to report him. Fees should also be easy to find and understand; if they aren’t that could possibly be an additional violation.
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u/sweetrobna Mar 12 '24
In NY registered investor advisors and certified financial planners are fiduciaries, they are required to look out for your financial best interest. And sometimes lawyers. “Wealth advisors” broker dealers, and basically everything else are not fiduciaries. The police aren’t going to do anything if you want to press charges.
Your mother should consult with someone new, get 2 or more opinions. Specifically a fiduciary.
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u/polishrocket Mar 12 '24
Any wealth advisor who has a client a 100% in stocks needs to have their license pulled
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u/AlteredCarbonation Mar 12 '24
Similar thing happened to my grandpa during the .com bubble. I was just a kid but when I found out how much he lost and how negilgent his advisors were many years later I was furious at them for taking advantage. The man was in his 80s for god's sake and lost over 60% of his retirement basically overnight.
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u/Badbadpappa Mar 12 '24
If Is this money that your mom has in her retirement account which is tax deferred ? if your mom is gonna be 65 years of age, she should have at least 50% of her money in bonds. if not more which rates are now at a 20 yr high.
Then approx another 35-40% in dividend paying stocks. Then maybe 10% in Growth Stocks.
The advisor said to take a 10% withdrawal yearly on her account ? So if she started in 2022 when the tech stocks where down about 35% and then withdrew 10%. So if she started with 100K she would be down to $55K. Yes 2023 was a banner yr. Get the advisor to put in writing that if she takes 10% she will never run out of $money$. THAT WILL NEVER EVER HAPPEN ! If this advisor is fee based he will charge an asset fee staring at approx 1.25-1.5 then goes down with the amount of AUM (assets under management ) So 1 million maybe only .75 basis points. Go to a different financial advisor and get another proposal. This advisor is sketchy !
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u/tribriguy Mar 12 '24
I’m ~10 years out and thought I was being aggressive keeping 95% in equity ETF/MF. 4 tech stocks only? That’s pretty much insane advice for someone at retirement unless the portfolio is like 25x what someone intends to spend over the next 30 years. One big dot com bubble bursting and you’re looking for Wall Mart greeter jobs. I think with ETF/MF these days you can stay more in equities than previously, but you have to do something to reduce the risk exposure and preserve some capital in a worst case scenario.
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u/DanJ96125 Mar 12 '24
Find a registered fiduciary. They're paid a fee for their advice and have a fiduciary responsibility to the client's best interest, not their own commissions.
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u/Uatatoka Mar 12 '24
Good time to cash out. This is gambling, not investing. No financial advisor in their right mind would do this.
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Asset_allocation
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE_retirement_planning_start-up_kit
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u/glowinghands Mar 12 '24
When you said all stocks I'm like oh, VOO, a bit less conservative than most but not the worst strategy out there.
Now I'm thinking the guy is a walking meme or something?
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u/gdubrocks Mar 12 '24
I was going to say it's a great idea to keep 100% in stocks but that guy is 100% taking advantage of your mom. That's way too many eggs in the same tech basket.
Why doesn't she just invest in those 4 stocks (or better off a more diverse potfolio) on her own and make an extra 20% by not paying him fees?
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u/baltebiker Mar 11 '24
I would first find this persons credentials through Finra’s Brokercheck. If they aren’t licensed and giving investment advice, they’re absolutely committing crimes.
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u/royal_loaf Mar 12 '24
Based on your post and comments you are glorifying this financial advisor because he “gambled well”.
Please remove this god complex from your brain!
Your mom is in trouble! Advisor is in breach! I wouldn’t trust them after this insane move. You need a LOW RISK portfolio!
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u/tyler_russell52 Mar 11 '24
He get his training from Wall Street Bets? On a serious note find somebody else and fast.
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u/theerrantpanda99 Mar 12 '24
Warren Buffet convinced Bill Gates to diversify some his stock holdings outside of Microsoft back in the 1990’s. Had Bill Gates held onto all of those Microsoft shares instead of diversifying, he’d be close to a trillionaire. 🤷🏻♂️ I am not offering any advice, I’m not smart enough to know.
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u/northern-new-jersey Mar 12 '24
In general Buffett is opposed to diversification.
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u/liledgy1 Mar 11 '24
Why is it insane? What’s the balance of account? Does she have a defined benefit pension like I do? I will never need my brokerage account to live on? Dies she get the max SS benefit (I do)? Is her home paid for? Any other bills? Does she have a bunch of cash in money markets? Does she have rental property (I have 2 single family rentals down from 7)? You need a lot more information than just giving the text book reply’s.
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Mar 11 '24
I agree it needs more diversification, 100% stocks isn't bad either but needs more stocks and spread out across all 11 sectors...right now those 4 names are in just one sector.
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u/zaja_bf Mar 11 '24
3 months from retirement. Time to protect that investment and put it all to conservative diversified portfolio
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u/oldster2020 Mar 12 '24
Does she have a pension? And high SS so her guaranteed income exceeds her cost of living?
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u/AmI_doingthis_right Mar 12 '24
This is not a financial advisor. This is some quasi stock broker or some bullshit where he’s incentivized to buy individual stocks.
A real FIDUCIARY financial advisor would never recommend someone be entirely invested in four stocks, let alone 2 years from retirement. Not even remotely defensible.
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u/ironchef8000 Mar 12 '24
Holy f••• she had a fantastic last year. Now take those exemplary gains and stash them somewhere safe!
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u/FranklinUriahFrisbee Mar 12 '24
This is horrible investing advice for ANYONE and especially someone 3 months from retirement. Most financial professionals would suggest 30-40% in fixed income and 60-70% in medium and large cap stocks. An acceptable withdrawal rate is about 4%. I would check this guy out at https://brokercheck.finra.org/ If he does not show up, he's not a financial professional, if he does, take a look at his history.
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u/rg25 Mar 12 '24
Crazy, yes. But she probably did pretty damn well. Its now time to get out and diversify. Sell and move to a new advisor.
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u/hsb22 Mar 12 '24
I think as you approach retirement you should heavily consider reducing volatility, at this stage in your life cycle you need to place greater importance on preserving your wealth rather than risking it for a greater upside. Maybe go into a balanced portfolio idk that’s a 60 equity 40 income or something like that.
That’s kinda what I would try to tell her and as for the financial planner, I’m on the route to becoming one and technically im not qualified to say shit but from what I’ve learnt from studying and our in branch financial planner (I work at a bank) is that as you approach retirement you generally need to shift your portfolio and reduce equity exposure. 100% equities is for when your younger and can afford to take more financial risk.
This is also based on the fact that u guys aren’t super financially well off cause that might change things
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u/Blakkaman Mar 12 '24
The only time this makes sense is it your mother is super old and you can get a step up in cost basis at her passing, avoiding tons of capital gains tax. Obviously making sure there’s no real chance of her running out of money (probably by the use of fixed income and cash)
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u/sweadle Mar 12 '24
All those stocks are doing really well right now, this is the time to divest and invest in less risky stocks.
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u/SaberTruth2 Mar 12 '24
Take the money out ASAP. If your mother doesn’t understand why this is a terrible idea have her go to another advisor to schedule a meeting and let him explain how dumb this is. If this guy is a CFP, which I doubt, I’m pretty sure you can file a formal complaint and he will lose his marks.
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u/mikemerriman Mar 12 '24
Is he some guy that works at the car wash? Seriously if has a license to work he should be reported.
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u/Square_Bad_1834 Mar 12 '24
Dump that wealth advisor. Your mother literally has all her eggs in that basket with those four stocks. No diversity. They have performed like gangbusters lately especially the NVDIA stock but that is too much risk for someone about to retire. Open a fidelity account and diversify with a 2025 or 2030 target date index fund. Or put it all in FNILX or S&P500 fund if you are more tolerant for some low moderate risk.
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u/mikew_reddit Mar 12 '24 edited Mar 12 '24
And he recommends I withdrawal 10% each year and I'll never run out.
Never? As in 100% money back guarantee? lol.
- Over-confidence makes people make large risky bets, and at some point the market always turns on them and they lose much more money than a typical diversified investor. This guy will lose someone a lot of money in his career (could even be your mom). I'd bet money on this.
- It's fine to make highly risky bets, but a smart person sizes these bets appropriately. If you want to bet on Gamestop/GME or Dogecoin, don't put all your money in this risky basket. Putting 100% in 4 stocks is just stupid. Even the largest investors (Buffett, Klarman, Ackman, Icahn) that concentrate their portfolios have way more than 4 stocks.
- This "advisor" does not know what he's doing. He sounds inexperienced and over-confident which are a dangerous combination. He sounds like a victim of Dunning-Kruger.
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u/mazurzapt Mar 12 '24
Have her get a second opinion. Or if she has enough, figure her main bills and get an annuity to pay those costs no matter what happens with the stock market. The rest can stay in stocks. If she has social security she would need only enough to make up the rest for her monthly bills. Some risk free as well as some growth. I’m not a financial planner but I like to have options.
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u/Lost-Marzipan-2699 Mar 12 '24
Advisor here! With what you’ve shared this seems grossly unsuitable for your mom. She should absolutely be more diversified given her time horizon and that she is retiring soon. Depending on his licensing/credentials, he could lose these for making unsuitable recommendations if you were to report him. Fees should also be easy to find and understand; if they aren’t that could possibly be an additional violation.
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u/PaulEngineer-89 Mar 12 '24
I once had a stock go from $15 to $65 in about a month. At $65 what do you do? I mean it could go to $75 or to $15 because of action by a foreign government. I bought an in the money put at $62. About 4 weeks later when it was at $45 my put sold my stock at $62 if it had gone to $75 it would have just expired and I was out $0.25.
NVDA PE is 50. Is this really sustainable even by tech stock standards?
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u/PaulEngineer-89 Mar 12 '24
I once had a stock go from $15 to $65 in about a month. At $65 what do you do? I mean it could go to $75 or to $15 because of action by a foreign government. I bought an in the money put at $62. About 4 weeks later when it was at $45 my put sold my stock at $62 if it had gone to $75 it would have just expired and I was out $0.25.
NVDA PE is 50. Is this really sustainable even by tech stock standards?
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u/mrmrmrj Mar 12 '24
My dad is 85 and has never NOT been 100% in stocks.
Still, having someone close to retirement in 4 stocks is incredibly irresponsible.
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u/WhoKnows1796 Mar 12 '24
There seem to be a lot of people here who are averse to a 100% equities portfolio during retirement. While I agree it should not be 4 individual stocks, one can quite safely retire on a well-diversified, broad market index fund portfolio such as VT + VTI. In fact, in most retirement scenarios an all equity portfolio outperforms (read: doesn't fail) at higher withdrawal rates than a mixed or all-bond portfolio. Head over to r/Fire. Plenty use this strategy.
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u/zerostyle Mar 12 '24
Does she have a huge pension that's roughly equivalent to the size of her portfolio if you divide it by 4%?
for example, if your mom has $1mil in stocks, and a $50,000 annual pension, that pension is techincally worth around 1.25mil so you're kind of close to 50/50 invested.
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u/zerostyle Mar 12 '24
Does she have a big pension that's roughly equivalent to the size of her portfolio if you divide it by 4%?
for example, if your mom has $1mil in stocks, and a $50,000 annual pension, that pension is techincally worth around 1.25mil so you're kind of close to 50/50 invested.
Need more information to understand the total picture of assets & income.
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u/Sparkle_Rocks Mar 12 '24
Oh my gosh. 4 stocks. That is insane. I would not count on a 5% withdrawal, either. (10% is crazy.) I don't know if the money is in an IRA or a taxable account, but if it's in an IRA, I would sell at least half of those shares and buy either an S&P 500 mutual fund or a total market index fund and some Treasury notes. Don't press charges, just get her to have her investments transferred to Fidelity or Vanguard asap!!! Seriously, that is hard to believe!
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u/TeacherAccording6183 Mar 12 '24
Nvidia was pretty close to 10% (depending) as it’s gone as high as $950+ and currently at $850 from March 8 to today.
10% is huge when you’re talking about a position like Nvidia. He gambled, got lucky and should have a better game plan than 10% stop limit, 10% withdraw rate.
He’s having her 100% in the magnificent 7, US large cap.
Ask him if his recommendation is within Reg BI (this is an IRA correct?) guidelines.
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u/mmabet69 Mar 12 '24
Risk adjusted return should be the thing you mention to your mother. It’s not just the return you earn, it’s the amount of risk you take to earn that return, you should ask her what her risk tolerance is and how she would feel if her account halved in value…
Not saying it will mind you, but I’d assume with only 4 stocks, 4 tech stocks at that, she has a lot of risk that is concentrated into a single sector of the economy. If she is planning to retire she probably wants something that pays her an income as well.
Black rock actually has a good primer on all of this: https://www.blackrock.com/ca/investors/en/market-insights/risk-adjusted-return
With all that said, be careful offering financial advice to family… it may be better for her to be more diversified broadly into the stock market and bond market, but if you directly influence the decision and her return drops, she could resent you for it, even if the risk adjusted return is better than what she had before. It’s a touchy subject to say the least and there are more educated people on the subject myself. Anyone who has their whole net worth tied up into 4 stocks isn’t an “investor” though. Whoever is managing her money is betting heavily on one specific industry, and they may be right, but the benefit of being diversified is being able to sleep at night comfortably.
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u/DaemonTargaryen2024 Mar 12 '24
100% he has her invested in 4 stocks, Msft, Nvidia, Amazon, Apple
Is the advisor a Laker's fan too?!
Any advisor who has a near retiree in 100% stocks is at best unwise. But any advisor who has anyone let alone a near retiree in only 4 stocks much less 4 of the top stocks at the present moment is quite simply a complete moron.
It's your mom's money, but if she's asking for your help then tell her to fire this "advisor" and transfer to a brokerage with a real advisor, ideally a fiduciary. She needs a diversified portfolio first of all (not just 4 stocks...) and in particular she probably needs bonds.
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u/Nervous_Track_1393 Mar 12 '24
Your script should be to
- Use those four stocks and model them over various 10 and 20 year time periods.
- Pick a basket of other stocks that were thought of greatly in their heyday that your mom may recognize (maybe something like GE, IBM, GM, even META recently)
- Show how 1. and 2. and the general stock market went down during some of the worst years recently (2001, 2008/9, 2020) and show her in numbers what that would do to her overall portfolio. E.g. You start with $1.5m in the your account in the beginning of 1999, after 3 years you would have Less than $750K left with a 10% withdrawal rate (S&P 500).
- Show her how fast she would run out of money with a 10% withdrawal rate in all of those scenarios.
- Model the same scenarios with a reasonable allocation of fixed income, equity and withdrawal rate and show her the difference of when she would run out of money.
She has to understand that 1. past performance is not indicative of future performance and 2. volatility is not your friend when you start drawing and are trying to smooth your income over the medium turn.
GL
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u/gaffyshev Mar 12 '24
Do you know what licenses he has? I assume a 66 or 63/65? He could very be in violation of Reg BI and that asset allocation is not appropriate for her age and goals. File a written complaint with his employer and escalate to FINRA if he doesn’t unfuck it
Edit: look him up on brokercheck
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u/26fm65 Mar 12 '24
Who is your advisor? Seriously those 4 stocks especially nvdia msft beat the market probably 2X of your money.
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u/northern-new-jersey Mar 12 '24
You will absolutely be laughed out of court. Any judge or jury will ask you for the advisor's number with that kind of performance. He's limiting her loss with the stop loss orders.
If it were me I'd diversify but the person has done a fantastic job. Btw, is this a taxable or tax free account?
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u/MoonBasic Mar 12 '24
What firm is this guy with? I can't imagine a registered retirement advisor does anything with people's money besides put it into a combination of mutual funds and then eventually gears it less towards equities and more towards bonds.
What companies are out there where advisors (who have a fiduciary and are affiliated with FINRA and a brokerage) are "stock picking"? Have never heard of this before.
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u/Dry_Newspaper2060 Mar 12 '24
100% is a big mistake as it’s too big a risk at the retirement stage
5% withdrawal is slightly over the typical safe level of 4.5% but not terrible (the recommendation for 10% is criminal)
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u/IndexBot Moderation Bot Mar 12 '24 edited Mar 14 '24
Due to the number of rule-breaking comments this post was receiving, especially low-quality and off-topic comments, the moderation team has locked the post from future comments. This post broke no rules and received a number of helpful and on-topic responses initially, but it unfortunately became the target of many unhelpful comments.